I am an artist - photographer, illustrator, and sometimes painter. I was born and raised in New York but I now live in France with my husband in a nice little suburb only 10 miles from Paris. I am disturbed, funny, sad and happy all at once! Read my blog and my thoughts. :)

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Call it what you will. It's necessary for all of us to indulge in fantasy. Necessary to escape from certain realities and escape to somewhere and allow our imaginations to flourish. We need to feed our souls with it other wise, what kind of soulless people are we?

It is interesting and a bit sad though how people react to this sort of thing in an everyday situation. For my 48th birthday, I bought myself a present - well actually, the money was a gift from a dear friend to do as I wish. So, I wanted to have something fun and bought these elf-eared earphones.

Most people that read my blog know me and know that I am no stranger to wearing costumes in public on some level - generally on my way to and from a photo shoot but most of those times, I was coming from my car.

However, now in France, I am in public transport - trains, buses, subways, trams and on foot. I have worn these earphones on several occasions and it strikes me as odd as to why I get more negative looks than positive ones. I can understand a moment of shock turned to a laugh or a shake of the head but when I am looked at in a hard way with a grimace on some faces, or get eye rolled at, I think more about what our society has become.

We have become one of the most angry societies than ever before. I see complete black and white statements being made, quicker judgement calls and even quicker tempers. People are getting angry at those of us that have a difference of opinion or our own beliefs.

Who or what is to blame for this? We can start with our political climate for sure but this goes back a few years now. Social media has made people less patient and tolerant of others and as the more "social" people become online, the less they are in reality.

What is even more confusing is that in an era where what I have done for the last 20 years is now accepted and considered "cosplay" (I suppose I can thank whoever came up with that term to legitimize my dressing up and photographing myself), taken out of the context of a comic-con, walking around wearing elf ears is considered strange and not in a positive way.

Well, this is who I am and I never felt the need to protest it or make a "thing" about it. Let me be strange... but please don't hate me or try to make me feel bad for it.

And if you want to be angry about it, well, go ahead. This is my life and my fantasy. I only get to live it once.

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

There she was sitting on a leaf in the bright sun. Slowly, I crept up to her with my camera to quickly snap a shot. No way. She wasn't liking that. Swiftly she flew and began a dance around my head. She landed on another leaf. Again, I slowly moved toward her, lifted the camera to my eye and whoosh she moved again and around and around my head.

"C'mon! Sit still just for one minute!" I cried to her. She then decided to land on my shoulder! I turned to her and moved fast but she hung on. "Ok, you want to stay there? I can try to get that angle with my camera" but whoosh she fled and back to her original leaf.

For 10 minutes, she continued to give chase. She landed on one leaf. I tried to be ever so gentle. No, she went to another leaf. Then a rock. Then a branch. Some moments, she would just flutter around in the air not wanting to land at all. However, when she did, no matter how quiet I made myself, she flew away every time I approached.

With my hands on my hips, frustrated and amused at the same time, I shouted, "you really are a silly girl and want to play hard-to-get, huh?" Finally, on a big leaf, she folded her wings inward slowly. I took a step. She didn't move. I took another step. Her wings remained folded. I furrowed my brows. "Are you tired? Did I wear you out?" Then suddenly, she spread her wings wide. I held up my camera and moved it close. Then closer. I shook as I approached but she didn't move. Snap! I got the shot. It was out of focus. Damn! But she still didn't move. So, I took another step, held my breath and snap!

She sat there another moment. Maybe she was communicating with me. I'd like to think that. I'd like to think that she had a fun time playing chase and interacting with a human that only wanted to interact with her.

After that moment, she flitted up and high in the sky. There, she met her mate and they began their dance of love, swirling around one another in the wind. I watched as they moved so quickly from place to place and then off they flew into the distance.

It was my moment. No. It was our moment. A shared moment that existed for a brief time but one that made me filled with joy. I felt connected to the earth; to nature. I felt where I belonged. Not of the modern world filled with too many artificial diversions but a world in which if you stop, look and listen, is filled with magic and unspoken connections that are stronger than anything could be. I am happy I was able to capture something of that moment so I will always remember my friend.